Crystal Tower Apprentice
Apprentices are students of the arcane, and they have few rights and fewer privileges during this stage. They are assigned a mentor (usually the wizard that discovered them), and study in the tower they are recruited to. Except for special circumstances, apprentices are expected to remain within their home compound. Should their mentor have to leave for any reason, another wizard takes over responsibility for the apprentice’s training. This fact, combined with the relative rarity of gifted apprentices can create some heated rivalries among the wizards of the Crystal Tower. While these rivalries almost never culminate in violence, they certainly have a tendency to spill over into other facets of life within the Tower. During a typical day, apprentices spend roughly 8 - 12 hours training in the arcane arts. This training includes basic education, such as the ability to read and write, the history of Veserund and the Crystal Tower, and the ability to perform mathematical calculations. Additionally, apprentices are taught magical theory, as well as rigorously structured forms and formulae used to control magical energy to produce spells. On top of their education and training, apprentices are also responsible for contributing to the day to day operation and maintenance of the tower in which they reside. This can include such mundane duties as laundry, cooking, cleaning, or transcription of texts for their mentors (among other duties). Most mentors claim that the rigorous schedule that apprentices are expected to keep help them to form the mental fortitude and discipline necessary to handle the rigors of spellcasting. There are those among the apprentices, however, who believe that the wizards are just taking their turn to impose their will, after spending time as an apprentice themselves. There are two main ways to become an apprentice of the Crystal Tower. First, one can present himself at one of the campuses. Alternately, an individual can be discovered by a Tower wizard, and agree to return to the Tower to be presented. In either case, the candidate is put through a series of tests designed to determine their mental capacity, willpower, and arcane potential. While these tests may be modified slightly depending on the candidate, as well as the examiner, the tests are largely the same whether the candidate is a practicing wizard of another school, or a child who has never cast a spell. Should a candidate be accepted, the new apprentice is expected to enact a Oath of Fealty to the crown, as well as a vow to adhere to the tenants of the Crystal Tower from that point forward. At that point, the apprentice is stripped of all possessions, and given the black robes (black signifying the lack of color, see Crystal Tower Wizard page) and gear they will require to apprentice from that point forward. The term of apprenticeship can last anywhere from five years (for wizards who have forsaken their old traditions) to several decades. It is the rare prodigy that is able to complete their apprenticeship in less than five years. Upon ascension to wizard status, the apprentice is returned any possessions that he or she had when they entered apprenticeship.